1. Black Widow will be one of the many character uses Marvel will be using to help bridge the gaps between their movies leading up to the Avengers. Although I agree that she is slightly underplayed, it is not like her inclusion takes away from anything in the movie.

2. It was slightly confusing how Rhodey was able to wear the armor. However it was mentioned quickly that Stark programed barriers into his suits from letting just "anyone" pilot them. This suggests that Tony may have been thinking of allowing Rhodes to pilot the Iron Man all along, and was hesitant only because of his employment in the military.

3. When Tony calls him "war machine" that wasn't meant to be a formal title, but fan service. Tony was drunk, angry and it was meant to be an insult. The movie made it well known that Stark didn't care for the government wanting to weaponize the Iron Man, so he was at ends with his relationship with Rhodey: friend who works for the military.

4. They show Rhodey stepping into the armor. I don't think it needs further explanation than that.

5. The Vanko and Stark relationship was explained pretty quickly and was efficient. DId you go into the movie just to enjoy it or pick it apart for what you deemed as flaws?

6. A valid point about trying to be funny. I found that movie pretty funny and at least smiled at all the jokes...the rest of the audience...not so much. I don't know if everyone was tired, didn't get the humor or just didn't find it funny...but there was hardly any laughing in the theater.

I saw the movie today and I liked it. I thought it was more of the first(which is good). Robert Downey Jr was excellent as Tony stark!
I dont read Iron Man comics, so I have got a question. Do you guys think that we will see Mandarin in the future films?

Thank you, LTornadoe. That guy drove me crazy. And he said "Are you sure you want to be AAAAAAA warmachine." He wasn't naming him on the spot. It was actually pretty clever how they did it, and you blew it. Way to go.

Also LTornadoe. Thanks for point number 2. I didn't quite catch that in the movie.

My theater was cracking up with all the jokes. Great movie. Two thumbs, way up.

My only question is why they didn't show the scene of Pepper kissing the helmet and tossing it out the cargo plane and Tony said "You complete me!" like on the preview? Other than that, I loved the movie. I liked how S.H.I.E.L.D found Thor's hammer after the credits rolled. I liked how they combined Crimson Dynamo with Whiplash. They probably won't do the 3rd movie until after The Avengers 2012 release. Really loved how Faveru or however you spell it stayed true to the comic about Tony being a alcoholic and he and Rhody duking it out with the suits.

After the first movie released some fans expressed their interest in seeing him on the big screen. And I'm pretty sure Favreau commented saying that they mulled him over, but found his inclusion to be too "unrealistic" based on the realistic-fantasy-tech world he was trying to establish. However I will say that the Avenger movie kind of breaks apart his vision by including the mystical being Thor.

PERSONALLY I'd rather see the third movie mesh the plot of the Extremis/Armor and Ezekiel Stane's revenge on Tony for the death of his father.

@ ginnysababe

I'm pretty sure that scene where Pepper kissed the helmet was supposed to happen in the beginning of the movie right before Tony jumps and starts his sky dive.

Why they decided to get rid of it, I have no idea. They might have scripted it to show the development of Tony's and Pepper's relationship. If that was the case then I DO understand why they scrapped it. It is pretty clear that their relationship was turning into something more at the end of the first movie. Then throughout this movie we see how it develops into something more.

Or they took it out so they could put it in an extended version when it comes to DVD, who knows?

They didn't use the Mandarin for the first movie b/c he was unrealistic however after the first and during production of the second he and the actor who played the leader of the Ten Rings have heavily hinted at the fact that Mandarin would appear in a future movie.

As far as sequels go, this movie was above average. I knew it would be virtually impossible to out do the original. I thought, however, that Downey Jr's portrayal of Stark was a little too reminiscent of the real Robert Downey Jr.

Saw it last night, not as good as the first one was. I was a little disappointed with the final battle. I know people complained that the battle in the first one with Obadiah wasn't "fun enough" or whatever but I thought it had more at stake, the betrayal of a father-figure to Tony really seemed to give the film some weight despite all its happy-go-lucky attitudes. This one just sort of ended with Iron Man victorious. While I really didn't expect anything else to happen, it would've been nice to see some repercussions from Tony's actions throughout the movie.
Oh and the after credits scene wasn't nearly as cool as Fury showing up in Tony's house, or Tony approaching Gen Ross at the end of Incredible Hulk.

This movie was Garbage, I thought maybe I'd give it another shot after the first movie but it failed again... Don't watch it just too corny iron man doing the robot? what the heck... To be honest I think Robocop is better than this lol.

It was a pretty good movie, but yeah, it had far too much going on and ultimately dragged the movie with it. When I think about IM2, I can't say it's bad because it was fun, it just felt like bits and pieces of what could've been larger stories. Which is essentially what they did. Listen/read interviews, the writer's and director said they decided to meld plots together. That's a dangerous thing to do and when you see the movie you will understand what I mean. You have to have some seriously amazing writing talents to make something like that work. IM2 is an alright movie, but a pretty great clip show.

IGN should quit writing reviews and start trying to make everything themselves. i mean if they're such authorities on what's good and bad with today's entertainment media, i'd like to see the golden calf they shit out.

I had no idea there was a scene at the end of the credits before hand. I was waiting for the "You complete me" jump. I noticed all the fanboys waiting for the credits to end, so I did too. (was watching it alone) Then we get the Thor nod. I even asked a ramdom fanboy as we walked out, if it was just me, or did they not show the "you complete me" scene. Like others said, it was meant for the beginning of the movie. When I saw Tony jump from the back the plane, I thought to myself "I guess the kiss scene jumps comes later". Guess not.

Im glad the IGN reviewer noticed how stupid it was the Rourke could take multiple hits from a car. His suit was lame. Indiana Jones could have fired a sarcastic shot into his unprotected abs. Yet Ironman waits for him to wind up his lasso and give him whiplash with his whips. See, with all the times Ironman was grabbed by the neck, he could have shot off a "whiplash" one liner in the style he did for Warmachine. Yeah, and Rhodey instantly knew how to fly the suit like a pro? Right. At the expo, Stark still uses the robot arms to undress the suit, which seemed not as cool after we see his briefcase suit automatically suit up unassisted. The biggest laugh in the movie was when some kid in the theater said WHOA in a funny way after the explosion from Ironman and Rhodey fighting at the house. Not to say that the movie wasnt funny. And to see thats all it took to take down the villain, I have to repeat something Rhodey said earlier, "I think next time you should lead with that". That was the quickest final fight I think Ive ever seen. But not as quick as Stan Lee's shortest cameo ever, 1 SECOND!! if that. Bill O'Reilly got more screen time than Stan. And I dont like how Lee has to portray other people, instead of just random Stan Lee strangers, which I like better. I never knew Ironman existed until these movies. Im happy with both of them. Just bought the first one for BD last night, and I will add Ironman 2 to my collection. It isnt the best sequel of comic movies though. But not a bomb like others think. People just have to take Super hero movies for what they are, good fun. The only superhero movie I ever walked out of the theater from disgusted was the first Ang Lee Hulk. ALL others are what they are.

again with the negatory comments! first off...to you negative people...have you even read the comics?? no?? then stop complaining about what you dont understand. the movie squeezed as much of the ends that will lead to the means into 2 hours. the purpose of the movie is to lead into movies on the avengers, either all in one or focusing on each main member at a time, as the film clip at the end of the credits of iron man 2 suggested. the next avenger is about to get his own movie...it also tells the darker story of tony stark, who eventually becomes a huge player in the avengers. its character development that will lead to more movies to come. also....one last thing...the movie was made to be part of the summer blockbusters list. and summer blockbusters never have amazing stories...its just cool to see characters one grew up with come to life on the big screen....so stop the bellyaching...and either enjoy it or not either way, the series will always have more fans then haters...

lol!!! i loved the captains reference in the movie! tony used it to prop up his, experiment. lol. tony has no love for cap in the comics, hence the war. and hence why he used the shield as such. its just a hidden refernce for comic fans.

While I read a lot of comics, I never really got into Iron Man. Oh boy a rich guy who wants to be a hero never did anything for me (kind of the same with Batman but he seemed alittle more interesting to me personally). That being said, I shouldn't have to read the comics to enjoy or understand the movie. They're two different mediums. How many comic movies REALLY follow to source material? Even still, people shouldn't have to follow the comics to enjoy this movie. Are there going to be a few nods and inside jokes thrown in for the comic fans? Absolutely. But you shouldn't have to follow one to enjoy the other. Never read a Hulk comic in my life but really enjoyed the last Hulk movie. On the flip side I love Spawn but thought the movie was a complete joke. Not because it didn't follow the comic panel-for-panel but because it was poorly done and quiet frankly boring. If people are leaving negative comments it's not because they don't "get it" or anything, it's because they personally didn't enjoy the movie.

More than dissapointed. As a stand alone film; it sucked. As a superhero flick it sucked even more. The script was ****ed, the comedic zings the film pumped at you every third sentence lost touch like a half hour in to it. I'm for laughs, but most of the jokes weren't even funny and if they were, its because they had Downey or Rockwell's quirky charm to push it through.

It had all these characters and weird plot directions in a movie that felt like it was moving too fast, but was 2 hours long...wtf.

Marvel's effin' wild though, I'll give'em that. With all these superhero movies they're trying to produce and connect to one another to emulate it's universe shows how badass these films could be. But my issue with this sequel is it felt more like it was meant to build a foundation for **** that's gonna be on the big screen in the coming years rather be a stand alone movie itself and have actually been a good flick.

And this movie had such a great cast too who's talents were so under utililized.

I was very excited about this film... watched it with two other people and all three of us were disappointed. I don't know how IGN gave it 4 out of 5. The War Machine was useless. Rhoads transition into War Machine was immediate and not thought out. Stark character was more annoying than anything else. I actually found myself rooting for whiplash (Mickey Rourke's character)

Scarlett Johansen didn't even need to be in the movie. Her character did nothing... seriously. She did absolutely nothing.

Didn't feel this flick like I did the first. Definitely too much going but I could have stomached that if EVERYBODY, except Mickey's character, wasn't trying to be a comedian in this flick. It seemed that they really tried to stretch the comedy of this flick when it should have been mostly Tony Starks with the good zingers but he was weaksauce and too many times, the liines got so "jumbly" where it seemed characters were in a battle of who could be the wittiest. Terrible.

I agree with the reviewer about Mickey Rourke getting rammed SEVERAL TIMES with that Rolls just to be A-OK afterward and then that dreaded, drunken Tony b-day celebration that lead to Rhodey having NO probs flying off in his pre-War Machine suit. WTF WAS THAT????

What else...uhh...I do agree with the reviewer's stance on Whiplash. "Understated" character which was well served. No probs with him. Hammer was sooo effin' corny it was ridiculous. Again, the humor was spread too thin and all over this flick and they gave Rockwell's character a heap of it, which was not good.
Uhh, I can't think of anything else, right now. Thoroughly disappointed at this movie...Oh, Samuel L Jackson CANNOT switch up!! He's the same dude in EVERY flick he does, it seems. Again, too much trying to be funny going on and he definitely was apart of the prob.
I liked Scarlett but just for eye candy and her action scene. She was SICK wit the ass whoopins.

This was a good movie. Although it was better than the first, it relies on the story more than the action. Toward the end of the movie it picks up on the action and makes up for the rest of the movie. Overall, i would give this a 3.5 out of 5.

I can't believe that the editors missed what I thought was a blatant error in the technical aspect of the movie. *Minor Spoiler Alert* During that scene where Starks was rotating the beam of laser in order to form the new element, the laser shredded through the walls and shelves, but somehow failed to damage the wiring powering the synthesizer's container. The wires should have been suspended, but they were obviously in the path of the laser.

It's not very noticeable to most people I guess, but I saw it right away. Still, I wanted to point it out because there are those movie fanatics out there who like to know this kind of stuff.

Just watched the movie and frankly I thought it was passable for a one viewing at best or perhaps even completely sucked.

I don't really know anything about the Iron Man universe but I did watch, understand, and enjoy the first movie unlike the sequel.

My summary of this movie would be: random bad guy, random agent girl who is good with martial arts, random action mostly for the hell of it (and the ending 'main' fight left me wondering wtf when it finished in 20 seconds...), and Tony and his girlfriend blurting out seemingly random lines while trying to interrupt each other for about half the movie - actually, it seems that every character was endlessly trying to interrupt everyone else here. The movie felt like it had no beginning, no coherent or half interesting plot, and no real ending. Just a bunch of scenes thrown together with some (admittedly entertaining) humor sprinkled now and then.

Meh. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but I personally really felt like I wasted my time with this.

I don't even know what the reviewers are smoking anymore because personally, I liked this one a lot better than the first one. Maybe plot structure was handled better in that one but the badassery of this movie totally made up for it. ScarJo's B.W. is now easily among my very small list of genuinely awesome, tough women who actually could stand equal to or above the tough males in these kind of stories. I just wish SLJ could've been a bit more militant as I had imagined instead of playing the cool guy but besides that complaint, this sequel joins the ranks of the best.

I loved this movie. Probably just as much as the first. I'm a huge fan of the Iron Man comics and they nailed it on this one. Everything about Tony is just perfect, as are the characters around him. Personally the scenes without action didn't bother me at all because it was just fun to see the characters interact, specifically Tony and Pepper, because they nail what there relationship is in the current Invincible Iron Man series. Also I love how they are setting everything up for The Avengers, every time something was mentioned about it I'd be nerdgasming. Also the after credits scene *SPOILER* ...oh my god... holy ***... Thor's ****ing hammer. That right there makes this movie a completely awesome.

thought this movie was great. loved the story ark with tonys father (though funny enough while all my friends were like its walt disney. i was like holy crap its andrew ryan lol). action was well done and mickey rourke was just bad ass.

Loved the inclusion of thors hammer after the credits, and then loved the inclusion of captain americas shield being used as a prop to level a particle colider.

Saw it last night. I give it a 4/5, too. I liked the cgi, acting, and the Avengers references, but there was not enough action, and it was too plot focused. Now, that's not a bad thing, as too few superhero flicks are, but I'm always expecting action over plot, and this caught me off guard in a bad way. But good flick.

I loved how they showed something that represented each of the Avengers in the movie but i was surprised they didn't even mention The Hulk in this movie considering Tony Stark did a cameo in the Incredible Hulk movie.

The movie was extremely plot focused but I loved every second of it. The acting was pretty darn good too. When the action sequences occurred they were really good even though they were few and far between. The ending fight could have been a bit longer but I can understand because of the huge action piece before. All together I really enjoyed this one.

This movie was fantastic. Comic book movies usually suck because all they try to do is stuff it with action....now people complain there wasnt enough action. THE STORY was great and it was just a good movie. Who cares if there wasnt a ton of fighting and explosions.

@plm3d -- Yeah, there was nice little unique scene at the end. Remember the SHIELD Agent said he was going to New Mexico? After the credits you see him driving in the desert and pull up to a ledge near an impact crater. He gets out, then calls Nick Fury and tells him that "We've Found him." The camera angle then switches to a spot near the crater, and you see the Hammer of Thor.

Why is everyone complaining there wasnt enough action and to much story? Are you kidding me!? The easiest way to kill a movie (especially a movie based on an already established comic like Iron Man) is to sacrifice story for over the top action sequences. Idk why everyone keeps saying there is to much going on either. I followed this movie just fine. People always just have to find some why to tear things down.

People are complaining about not enough action?! What, do you want another Transformers 2? Yeah, I'll run with that cliched example, but that film really was just set piece to set piece of pointless explosions. I just got back from this film a half hour ago, and while at the moment I think it might be better than the first, and even if that changes, it was a great film. Yeah, I'm a comic book geek, but if the movie doesn't have a story, I really don't care about the explosions that happen. The whole middle stretch of the moving that was "boring" to all the fanboys was, in my opinion, a very well done aspect to the film, exploring the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline in its own fashion, along with some Stark family issues, and the story between Vanko and Hammer was fantastic. And I don't really see anywhere that you can lose track of the "multiple" story lines.

Review in a nut-shell.
It was either too emotional or not emotional enough in all the wrong places. (Ending battle was too light-hearted). Sub-plots bogs down movie at one point, and the comic book nerd in my hated how Stark went down hill at some points. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

I thought it was really good and really enjoyed it. Just have one question. Towards the end, at Nick Fury's office, it appears he is watching that news clip of the Hulk incident that happened at that university. So what is the timeline of Iron Man 2? Is that supposed to be just happening whild Stark and Fury are talking or is he just rewatching it? Thanks.

@driftingcowboy1
It makes sense that Stark's appearance at the end of the Hulk movie occurs after he officially joins Fury to help form the Avengers. That probably occurs shortly after the events of Ironman 2.

Nowhere near as good as the first. Too many characters. The first movie soared, this one skimmed the surface. Fight at the end was way too short and frankly a little boring and I had issues with the plot. How could Whiplash have known that Tony would be on the track racing when Tony only decided to do it last minute on a whim?